A Timely Intervention
by dysfunctionaldreamer
Summary: For years, the Southern Water Tribe was a peaceful and undisturbed nation. Six years later, it is merely a conquest of the Fire Nation. Armed with nothing but a sarcastic brother and the element of surprise, Katara vows to save her tribe. Even if it means going up against Fire Lord Zuko. (AU of a sort)
1. The Rule Breaker

**A/N: **I don't own A:TLA (I wish I did though!) Also, please read the author's note at the bottom. Thank you!

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**A Timely Intervention**

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**Chapter 1: The Rule Breaker**

The feel of something bright and brilliant pressed unyieldingly against the waterbender's closed eyes, prompting them to snap open immediately. For a second her vision was bleary, and she could barely register her surroundings. After a few seconds of lying still, she slowly sat up and squinted out the window. The sun had already reached its zenith, meaning it was probably noon.

It also meant she was late.

Katara groaned and swung her legs over the bed. She quickly washed up and fixed her thick hair in a simple plait.

After pulling on a pale blue tunic and a thick cobalt parka, Katara darted out the door.

The second she stepped foot outside, she was greeted with a bitter gust of wind that almost knocked her off her feet.

_Leave it to the south pole to be freezing every day of the year. _

Technically, it was spring, but it never really felt like it down in the south pole. In fact, Katara should've been used to the chilly winds and the heavy snowfalls by now since she had been living here for sixteen years.

Securing her hood over her head, Katara hurried toward the docks. She was generally a pretty punctual person, but she had stayed up late last night practicing her water whips. Nightfall brought out her best waterbending so she tried to use it to her advantage whenever she could.

Katara stepped onto the chipped wooden board of the dock. Her eyes scanned the wonderful blue expanse of the ocean, searching for it.

Ah. There it was. She wasn't late after all.

A small black dot appeared in the horizon, drawing closer at a fast pace.

Katara could vaguely make out the jagged outline of Sokka's wolf tail fluttering erratically in the wind. Her father, Hakoda, was seated near the front of the boat and was engaged in conversation with a few other tribe warriors.

As the boat approached the dock, Sokka caught sight of Katara and immediately started to wave his hands.

"Katara! Guess what I caught today?!"

A grin broke out onto Katara's face. "Just one fish?" she called out.

Sokka's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What? I can't hear you!" He stood up shakily on the boat and tried to maneuver his way to the front.

Katara gave herself a facepalm. Her brother's reckless antics were going to be the death of her.

The boat dipped to the side under Sokka's weight, forcing Hakoda and the others to frantically grip the other side.

"Sokka! Sit down already! You're going to tip the entire boat over!" Hakoda's yells were barely heard in the chaos.

"Okay, okay, jeez. I was only trying to hear what Katara was saying", Sokka whined while dropping to the floor of the boat.

Hakoda sighed heavily and motioned for one of the warriors to throw the rope around a wooden stump near the dock. After safely anchoring the boat, the group filed out leisurely with Sokka sulking in the back.

Katara engulfed her father in a hug, breathing in his comforting scent. "Did you guys have a good hunt?"

"We've had better days. But your brother here," Hakoda cocked his head in Sokka's direction, who instantly perked up, "caught his first fish".

Sokka crossed his arms and gave a smug smile. "That's right. This guy caught his first fish on his first hunt. Boo yeah!"

"Yeah and you almost tipped our boat over too because of your silly behavior". Hakoda nudged his son affectionately.

"Um, I think we're missing the point of the story here! I'm gonna become the best warrior and hunter in the Southern Water Tribe".

"It's not that easy Sokka. For one, you still have to learn how to tie your own wolf tail".

"W-what? I do tie my own wolf tail!".

As her family bickered in the background, Katara's thoughts drifted to her own bending abilities. As a male, Sokka had way more privileges in the tribe. He was already learning how to hunt and fight whereas she was primarily only taught healing.

It was unfair. As the last waterbender in her tribe, didn't it make more sense for her to learn _everything_ about waterbending? Including fighting?

It was the exact reason why she sought secret waterbending lessons from Hama before the old woman passed away a few months ago. She definitely was nowhere near the level of a master, but her abilities were decent.

"Katara!"

Sokka's voice snapped Katara out of her reverie. She turned to see that her father and the warriors were starting to tread back to the village.

"Aren't you hungry? Gran gran made stewed sea prunes for us". Sokka's stomach grumbled loudly, eliciting a chuckle from Katara.

"Alright, let's go eat".

They headed to the communal fire pit where Kanna and a few other women were serving stewed sea prunes in small bowls to the villagers. As the siblings stood in line, a group of warriors joined them.

From her peripheral vision, Katara could see that they were engrossed in a serious conversation. She didn't mean to eavesdrop, but she caught onto a few bits and pieces of information.

"…few days ago…waterbending scroll…igloo…".

Katara's ears instantly perked up.

_Waterbending scroll? _

She darted a quick glance at Sokka who was too busy eyeing the stewed sea prunes to notice her sudden alertness. Katara stealthily leaned closer to the warrior group, willing her ears to absorb as much information as they could.

"…it's confidential. Apparently, it's from the Northern Water Tribe. But I don't for sure since chief just told me to store it in the main-hey!"

The warrior who was talking, a lean man with medium-length black hair and a slight stubble, abruptly stopped when he realized there was an extra participant in the conversation.

And by extra participant, he meant Katara of course.

"Katara, you know you can't be eavesdropping on confidential conversations. Your dad will have our heads you know!".

Katara wanted to retaliate that if they were really worried about the confidentiality of their conversation, they wouldn't be talking about it while in line for breakfast. But she was the daughter of the chief and it didn't bode well for her to be unnecessarily sassy.

Plus, she had already learned enough to know exactly what she was going to be doing that night.

Katara uttered a quick sorry and swiveled back around. Sokka had already grabbed a bowl and was eagerly holding it out to Kanna.

"Sokka, your appetite just grows bigger every day. But you can't hog all the food for yourself", Kanna chided as she ladled a generous portion of sea prunes from a huge pot into his bowl.

"I know gran gran, but I'm a growing boy so technically, I should be eating a lot more," Sokka said inching his already full bowl towards his grandma again.

Kanna swiftly placed the lid on the pot and shooed her grandson away. Shaking her head, she turned back to Katara and smiled. "Your brother is driving me crazy Katara". She dished out a smaller portion of sea prunes (Kanna knew her granddaughter's appetite very well after all) into the outstretched bowl.

Katara let out a good-hearted laugh. "He drives me crazy too gran gran". As she turned to follow after Sokka, Kanna's voice reached her ears.

"The spirits are calling out to you granddaughter. Be strong and brave". Katara immediately pivoted to question her grandma about the ominous sentence, but she had already moved onto serving the warriors behind her.

Shrugging it off as one of her grandma's usual crazy spiritual sayings, Katara plodded over to the stray, wearing log Sokka had found and was currently sitting on. She snuck a hasty glance around her before settling beside him and dropping her voice to a whisper, "Sokka, we need to visit the main igloo tonight".

Sokka stopped midchew and turned to eye Katara curiously, if not suspiciously. "Why? Isn't that the storage thingie?"

A small sliver of sea prune slid down Sokka's chin as he spoke and Katara resisted the urge to clean it off. "First of all, Sokka, you have sea prunes dripping down your chin. Second of all, yes, I know it's the tribe's storage area and technically we're not supposed to go there without dad. But we _need_ to go. I have a good reason".

Sokka swiped at his chin absentmindedly as he pondered over what Katara said. "Hmm, you the goody two shoes, suggesting we break into the main igloo at night-"

"I never said we were gonna break in!"

"Yeah well if we don't have dad's permission, it's a break in. Unless you were planning on telling dad about this?", Sokka asked raising an eyebrow.

Katara groaned and sighed in defeat. "No, I can't ask him. This visit-" (at this Sokka raised his eyebrow _again_) "- sorry _break in_ has to be top secret. No one can know about it". She lowered her voice again. "I heard some of the warriors talking about a waterbending scroll that was brought in from the Northern Water Tribe. Apparently, it's in the main igloo, but I'm not sure where exactly. All I know is that it's my only chance of becoming a good waterbender. One that knows how to fight and heal".

"Alright so let's say we actually try to get this scroll. How on earth are we gonna break into the storage? It's sealed shut with ice isn't it? Plus, we don't even know for sure if the scroll is actually there. For all we know, it could be a lie". Sokka licked the last remnants of sea prunes from his bowl and fixed his eyes on Katara's portion.

"Here, you can have my breakfast," said Katara offering her bowl to him. But just as his fingers grazed it, she snatched the bowl back. "I'll give it to you if you promise to help me tonight. I'm pretty sure I can somehow use waterbending to open the door for us. But I don't want to do this alone".

"Okay, okay, fine I'll help you. But only because of the sea prunes". At Katara's narrowed eyes, he hastily added, "and because you're my baby sis of course".

Katara grinned triumphantly. She wasn't known to be a rule breaker. But things were going to change tonight.

* * *

At exactly 9:30 pm, Katara surreptitiously peeked her head into her dad's room. Satisfied with hearing his loud snores, she motioned for Sokka to follow her.

The two siblings quietly tiptoed passed Hakoda's room and out the door of their hut.

"Are you sure he won't know we're gone?" Sokka whispered, darting a glance behind his shoulder.

"He's snoring, meaning he's in deep sleep. Plus, you know how tired dad gets on hunt days". They quickly trekked to the east side of the village, where the main igloo was located.

"Alright, here it is," Katara announced gesturing grandly at their site of interest.

"Great, now you can use your magic waterbending powers to unseal the entrance," Sokka said. He caught a glimpse of Katara's sudden nervous expression. "_You do _know how to unseal it right?"

"Y-Yes of course I do! I just…need a couple tries to get it right".

"Well you should probably hurry. If we get caught, dad will take my boomerang away,".

Steeling herself, Katara closed her eyes and concentrated on her inner chi. She had no idea how exactly she was supposed to break the door. She had gone over some possibilities at dinner, but she hadn't come up with a proper solution.

So, she decided to do the most "un-Katara" thing and just wing it.

Katara focused her energy on the sealed ice entrance in front of her and willed the ice to melt.

_Please work, please work, please work!_

Sokka's eyes widened as the top of the ice entrance slowly started to melt. "Hey, you're actually doing it!"

Katara could feel sweat starting to form at the sides of her temple but she pushed on. She felt a bit ashamed at how much energy it was taking her to melt a slab of ice.

The ice door melted three quarters way down and suddenly stopped. Katara wiped the sweat from her forehead and turned to Sokka. "This is about all I can do right now. It's enough space for us to squeeze through".

They crammed themselves through the door and cautiously stepped inside. The main igloo was nicely organized with weapons, wood, dried food, and fur pelts stored respectively in separate barrels. Katara's blue eyes swept the room, searching for any chests, trapdoors, or even the scroll in plain sight.

"Wow, this place is _so _cool!" Sokka exclaimed rubbing his hands together in excitement.

"Sokka, help me look for the scroll. We shouldn't spend a lot of time here," Katara said warily. She made her way over to the barrel of wood and was about to peer inside when-

"_Ow_!"

Katara's head snapped up to see Sokka clutching his foot in pain. "Stupid floor, stupid igloo!"

_Stupid floor? _

Katara's eyes suddenly rounded in excitement and she immediately rushed over to Sokka. She could practically feel the relief washing over her when she caught sight of an inconspicuous golden handle hiding in the shadow of the dried fruit barrel.

Katara gingerly lifted the handle and pulled out a wooden compartment filled with a myriad of scrolls. "Sokka, you found it! This must be where they hid the waterbending scroll".

Sokka, who was nursing his toe, promptly abandoned his injury and joined Katara beside the compartment of scrolls she had laid out. As she leafed through the scrolls searching for one pertaining to waterbending, Sokka pulled out random maps and scrolls about weapons.

After a few minutes of searching, she finally found a scroll displaying different waterbending techniques. Katara squealed, unable to contain her giddiness. "I finally found it-"

"Katara, check this out". Sokka was hunched over a scroll and was poring over its contents with an intense concentration she didn't know he had. Katara pocketed the waterbending scroll and regarded the scroll her brother had laid out on the ground.

The yellowed parchment scroll had a cryptic drawing of an hourglass and the letters "tempus" painted at the top. Upon inspecting it closely, Katara noticed there was a short poem or incantation of some sort written in small gold lettering:

_A quick yet deliberate being_

_Filled with emotion and meaning_

_A thief of one's most precious moments _

_Memories take the form as payment _

_A villain to many _

_And yet a saviour to few _

_It all depends on you_

_In the end, it is only you who will choose _

"It sounds like a magic spell to me," Katara murmured.

"Well there's only one way to find out," said Sokka making a grab for the scroll.

"No wait Sokka, I don't think we should-" Katara's voice was drowned out by the sudden deep rumble of Sokka chanting the incantation.

They waited for something to happen.

An earthquake. An avalanche. Talking polar bears.

Nothing.

"Man, what a waste of my time," Sokka whined disappointedly. Katara rolled up the scroll and placed it back in the compartment. After securing it back into the icy floor, she stood up. "We should leave. We've been gone for a long time".

She opened her mouth to speak again but paused momentarily. "Sokka…do you feel like something's changed? Like does the air feel different to you?"

Sokka snorted. "You're acting as if that lame magic spell actually worked. All it did was waste my time". He lifted himself off the ground. "Now I don't know about you but I'm tired so I'm going back to sleep. A warrior needs rest you know".

As Sokka turned to make his way to the entrance, Katara couldn't help but feel that something was wrong.

_Very _wrong.

The air was slightly warmer, the wind's scent carried traces of ash and spice, and…was it just her or was the door in perfect condition again?

"Um Katara...were there these many barrels when we walked in?" Sokka gestured to the six new barrels placed near the front of the igloo.

For some reason, Katara found it hard to breathe as she walked to the barrels her brother had mentioned. Her heart was beating erratically which was so _strange _because none of this meant anything right? It wasn't as if the spell had actually worked. Swallowing thickly, Katara lifted the lid off one of the barrels and she thought her heart stopped for a moment.

The barrel was filled with a sharp red powder that was unrecognizable to the siblings for a minute before they realized-

"Spices?!"

Katara frantically lifted the lids off the remaining barrels, becoming visibly more and more distressed with the contents of each one.

Tea leaves. Lychee nuts. Rice. Strange orangey red spiced flakes. Cabbage.

None of these were found in the water tribes. They were native to-

"The fire nation," Katara breathed out, feeling a heavy sense of foreboding overcome her.

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**A/N: **Hello hello dearest readers! I hope you all enjoyed the beginning of "A Timely Intervention". This plot line has been on my mind for a while now so I decided to plant it, water it, and hum a nice little tune to it. Hopefully it blossoms into a story that you will enjoy very much :)

I know Zuko hasn't made an appearance yet but he definitely will in the next chapter! So put this story on alert and look out for it :P Also, if you've noticed, I brought Hama back and made her "good" since I wanted Katara to have a temporary waterbending teacher to give her decent abilities for now.

I had to upload this chapter twice because I made a mistake regarding Katara's age; she is 16 years old right now (not 18!).

I think that's all I have to say for now so...review and add this story to your favourites/alert list! I will be updating soon enough friends :)

\- dysfunctionaldreamer


	2. Back to the Future

**A/N: **I don't own A:TLA. Please read the author's note at the bottom!

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**A Timely Intervention**

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**Chapter 2: Back to the Future**

A thick blanket of silence descended on the siblings. Katara's mind, however, was a cacophony of wild thoughts and theories.

Did that scroll's spell work? Did they get transported to the Fire Nation? But if that were true, why were they still in the main igloo? The Fire Nation didn't have igloos, did they?

_What on earth is going on? _

Her grandmother had told her stories of the Fire Nation's ruthless and tyrannical nature. Years ago, they had attempted to conquer the Northern Water Tribe but had failed to do it. Katara had always known it was a possibility that the Fire Nation would try to target the southern water tribe next as it was weaker in power compared to its northern counterpart.

Never in a million years did she think it would actually happen though.

"Uh…Katara?"

Katara looked up to meet Sokka's perplexed gaze. She frowned.

_Now that isn't an expression I see often._

"You…you look kinda older. Like your hair is longer and some of the fat from your cheeks are gone," Sokka said uneasily.

Katara's first thought was that she had never had fat on her cheeks and that Sokka was just imagining things. Her second thought was something far from that.

_Very _far.

A queasy feeling settled in Katara's stomach as she took in Sokka's slightly longer wolf tail and defined jawline. He had a grown quite a bit taller and had put on some muscle as well.

In other words, he looked older.

_What on earth is going on?_

"Sokka, I think…I think we got transported to the future," Katara started, realization dawning upon her. "It must have been that spell. There's no other explanation for this".

"So, you think it was a time travelling spell? That's insane Katara," Sokka shook his head, refusing to believe it. "It-it doesn't even make sense!"

"Actually," said Katara, "it does. The spell's name was tempus, which I'm pretty sure means time. And the riddle from the spell must have been referring to time. Not to mention, we both look older! How else would you explain that?"

Sokka's eyes suddenly widened and he grabbed Katara's arms urgently. "I look older too?! How do I look? Am I handsome? Do I have a sharp jawline?"

Katara swatted Sokka's arms away and pinned an angry glare at him. "That's not important right now. We have to get out of here and see for ourselves whether we've time travelled or not". Her voice took on a tinge of disappointment. "The only problem is, we have no idea who's outside so we can't just walk out of here".

Sokka bent his head in thought for a moment before a slow smile tugged on his lips. "Um, in case you've forgotten, I'm the man with plan". He crossed his arms confidently. "And I think I know what to do".

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Sokka's plan surprisingly had a strikingly high potential to turn out successful. Katara would melt a small portion of the ice entrance, giving just enough room for them to peek outside. If there was anyone, Sokka would use his boomerang to knock them out; temporarily of course.

Katara knelt in front of the door and focused her energy on melting a small hole in the ice. She wasn't shocked to discover that she could melt the ice much easier this time. This was her future-self. Things had changed, including her bending abilities.

What did shock her however, was what she saw through the hole. There were two fire nation guards standing stock still outside the igloo. They were dressed in dark red armor and seemed to be wearing a strange helmet.

_Why the hell are there fire nation guards in the southern water tribe?! _

Katara inhaled deeply, trying to calm her racing heart. She turned to face Sokka and lowered her voice to a quiet whisper. "There are two fire nation guards outside". Sokka looked bewildered but reached into his parka pocket for his boomerang.

Closing her eyes again, she melted a small portion of ice from the top of the door. A frigid gust of wind immediately blew through the hole and Katara felt her face throb slightly from the contact. Her entire body was trembling, and she wasn't sure if it was because of the sudden cold wind, or her nerves.

Sokka drew up beside her and pulled out his boomerang. Squinting at the hole, he angled his arm and released the weapon on a slant.

The boomerang disappeared discreetly into the sky for a few moments before rebounding and slamming into the head of the first guard, knocking him unconscious.

The second guard barely had time to react as the boomerang struck him next, forcing him to collapse to the ground.

After confirming that both guards were unconscious, Katara melted the rest of the door and the siblings dragged them inside the igloo. Truthfully, she felt guilty about the guards, but desperate times called for desperate measures, right?

"Alright," said Sokka depositing the guards against the wall, "so clearly we have some crazy jerkbenders out there. If this really is the future, then it means that the fire nation has somehow taken over".

Katara nodded solemnly. Her heart didn't want to believe it, but her mind knew it was the only explanation that made sense at this point.

"What should we do?" she asked trying to conceal the (slight) tremor in her voice.

Sokka looked pensive for a moment. His eyes scanned the igloo before they fell on the guards again. "How about we disguise ourselves as fire nation guards? That way we'll be able to get more information on what happened".

Dressing up as her enemy left a heavy feeling in her stomach but Katara steeled herself and inclined her head in agreement.

The siblings quickly removed the red armor, helmet, and faceplate from the two guards and donned themselves it. The uniform was loose for Katara, but she didn't mind since she would only be wearing it for a short while.

"I never thought I'd be dressing up as a fire nation guard," Sokka commented wryly fixing his faceplate.

"Oh, that reminds me," said Katara. "If we're going to disguise ourselves as guards, we're going to need fake fire nation names".

"I'll go by Kuzon. It sounds 'fire nation' enough for me".

"Then I'll be Kazuki," Katara said with an air of finality.

She looked down at the still unconscious guards on the ground. Ignoring the pang of guilt in her heart, she brought her hands up and secured the two of them in an ice block.

"Won't they freeze?" asked Sokka poking his finger at the ice cautiously.

Katara shook her head. "They have clothes on. Plus, I'm moderating the temperature inside so that they won't freeze". She carved out a rectangular portion of ice from the ground and carefully lowered the block of ice (with the guards inside of course) into the hole.

After sealing the hole, she turned to Sokka who tilted his head towards the entrance. Katara took a deep breath and followed her brother out of the igloo.

* * *

Once they exited the igloo, Katara felt her heart drop. She could barely contain her shock as her eyes took in the red, gold, and black transformation of her homeland from the small slits of the face plate.

Judging from Sokka's silence, she knew his emotions mirrored hers.

Red banners printed with the ominous emblem of the fire nation hung from new wooden buildings and igloos. The salty winds she had grown up with now held traces of spice and ash.

_This is wrong. _

There were guards _everywhere._ Many of them were posted at almost every building while others patrolled the outskirts of the village. A few marketplaces had opened up with numerous booths selling fire nation items, clothing, fabrics, and other knick knacks.

_This is wrong!_

Tears welled at the corner of her eyes, but she blinked them away furiously. Just when she thought she couldn't be more heartbroken, her gaze finally took in the villagers milling about.

_Her _people.

She wanted so desperately to see the anger, the hurt, the disgust in their faces at the withering state of their culture and nation.

But she didn't see any of those emotions. The villagers, people she had grown up with, looked impartial, if not indifferent, to the blatant fire nation changes.

It almost seemed as if they were used to seeing the red banners, the guards, the reds, the golds, the blacks, the _fire nation_.

_Wake up! Wake up and see what's going on around you! _

Katara didn't know if she wanted to scream, shout, cry, or summon a massive wave and just wash all traces of the fire nation away.

She felt a faint brush at her hand and turned to see Sokka shake his head softly. His message was clear enough for her.

_Don't_.

Right. Now wasn't the time to be angry or sad. She had a tribe to save-her tribe.

They were just about to head towards the marketplace, when a deep voice halted them.

"Just where do you two think you're going?"

Katara's heart jumped to her throat. Were they caught?

They slowly swivelled around to see a tall guard with cropped black hair and the tell-tale gold eyes of the fire nation. He was wearing the same uniform as them, but he didn't sport the helmet or the faceplate. Katara guessed he was some sort of high-ranking officer.

"We…we were just going to the marketplace to keep a closer eye on the villagers sir," Sokka stated, his voice devoid of any emotion.

The officer appraised Sokka silently before his gaze slid to Katara. She shifted uneasily under his scrutiny,

Katara almost sagged in relief when he cleared his throat and spoke again. "The main ship is on its way from the fire nation so you better hurry to the docks. You're to help unload the cargo and goods. Do you two understand?"

They nodded fervently. "Yes, sir!"

"Good". With a final pointed look at them, the officer walked away briskly muttering something about "idiotic new recruits" and "babysitting".

"Well he looked happy to see us," Sokka said sarcastically once the officer was safely out of earshot.

Katara hummed in agreement. "We should head to the docks in case he comes after us again".

They proceeded to walk towards the docks when Katara suddenly stopped. "Wait. He said the main ship was on its way from the fire nation. Does that mean the Fire Lord's coming here?"

She didn't need to see Sokka's face to know that his expression would be grim. "I guess we're gonna find out".

They begrudgingly trekked to the docks, noticing that several other guards were also heading there.

The officer that had reprimanded them arrived shortly after and ordered everyone to stand in formation to greet the main ship. Katara and Sokka shuffled awkwardly trying to follow the other guards who seemed to know what the officer meant by "formation".

Soon enough, Katara could spot a colossal sized red and black ship approaching the docks at a steady pace. As she stood patiently, she heard a few guards whispering amongst themselves.

"…Fire Lord's coming….".

"…first time…in person…".

She clenched her fists.

The Fire Lord was coming.

The one who destroyed her tribe, her land, her _everything_ was coming.

Katara took a deep breath and reigned her anger in. If she lost control of her emotions, things would end badly for both her and Sokka. She decided to focus on the ocean instead of the ship, knowing that her element was the only thing that could calm her down.

Once the main ship was safely anchored to the dock, a throng of fire nation soldiers exited the ship, marching down the long steel ramp.

The officer, who Katara had come to know was named Shu, beamed brightly at the soldiers as they passed him. As the last of them filed out, Shu's smile brightened even more (if that was even possible). Once all the soldiers had passed him, he whipped around to face Katara and the others.

"Stand. Straight. Or. Else. There. Will. Be. Consequences," he gritted out, a rather terrifying smile on his face now.

Judging from Shu's erect posture and the way he kept dabbing at his forehead, Katara had a feeling the Fire Lord would be exiting next.

She watched with bated breath as a tall personality emerged from the ship deck and regally descended the ramp, flanked by two soldiers on either side. He was dressed in royal red robes and the top portion of his long, silky, black hair was tied in a top knot with a five-pronged golden headpiece nestled on top. He exuded an air of confidence and aristocracy-something that told people _this man is not someone you should mess with. _

_I'm not someone to mess with either_ Katara thought vehemently.

Shu stepped forward eagerly and bowed low to greet the man. "It is an honour to greet you, my Lord".

The Fire Lord inclined his head in acknowledgment. "It is refreshing to be back here. The fire nation heat does get a bit stifling".

He raised his head and as he surveyed the guards, his gaze passed over Katara. A small gasp escaped her when she noticed the scar that covered half his face and travelled up to his ear and eyebrow.

"Idiots, unload the ship!"

Shu's scathing tone jarred her out of her study of the Fire Lord. Katara and Sokka immediately followed the other guards to the ship. As they brought cargo and other fire nation goods down from the ship, she couldn't help but sneak furtive glances at the Fire Lord. His arms were crossed primly and he was engaged in conversation with Shu who was talking animatedly.

She was so absorbed in inspecting the Fire Lord that as she handed a crate of cabbages over to Sokka, she completely missed his outstretched arms. The crate noisily dropped to the ground and a cluster of cabbages rolled out. Katara felt her cheeks flush (thank god for the faceplate) at her inattentiveness. As she hurried to pick up the cabbages, she felt the heavy weight of someone's stare on her.

Katara looked up, only to make eye contact with the Fire Lord. She was taken aback by the sheer intensity of his golden eyes, which seemed to be burning right through her. She knew the Fire Lord couldn't possibly see her face; it was masked by her face plate after all.

But for some reason, she felt like he could see_ through_ her. The thought made her uncomfortable.

Shu, who was in the middle of explaining something, noticed the Fire Lord's sudden lack of interest and followed his line of gaze. His mouth pinched in a small thin line when he realized Katara had clumsily dropped the crate.

"Please excuse me, my Lord," he said hurriedly with a false note of sweetness before stalking over to Katara.

"What are you idiots doing?! The Fire Lord has graced us with his presence and here you are making me look like a fool!" He darted a quick glance at the Fire Lord who was watching the scene with slight interest.

"Sorry, sir," Katara murmured placing the last of the cabbages in the crate. She turned her head to glimpse at Sokka who, much to her chagrin, was looking away in a desperate attempt to restrain his laughter.

Shu narrowed his eyes unpleasantly at Katara. "Don't let me catch you like this again". He took a deep breath before strolling placidly to the Fire Lord.

_What an insufferable man! If only I could use my bending. _

A half an hour later, they had finished unloading the cargo and goods. The Fire Lord had already left-where to exactly, Katara had no idea.

It was dinner time now and considering that her stomach had been grumbling for the past hour, she and Sokka decided to get food from the barracks. As they made their way to their destination, they caught sight of a large, fancy wooden building painted red and gold. The fire nation's emblem stood proudly on the black double doors.

"That must be where the Fire Lord is staying. We should check it out after dinner," whispered Katara discreetly.

Sokka's eyes rounded in disbelief. "W-What?! What do you mean check it out?" he sputtered, waving his arms hysterically. "Oh yeah we'll just _waltz _in there- no biggie! It's not like they'll find it suspicious".

Katara huffed in annoyance. "We're disguised as guards Sokka! If my guess of Shu being a complete suck up is correct, we can assume that he'll be in the building with the Fire Lord. We'll just ask him if there are any more duties we should attend to".

Sokka's eyebrows creased contemplatively. "I guess that should be fine," he agreed, a bit dejectedly.

Katara offered a small smile which dissipated quickly when a sudden thought surfaced in her mind. "We still don't know where dad or gran gran are either". She looked inquisitively at her brother. "Our hut would still be here right? Because that means dad and gran gran would be there".

"We saw a lot of the villagers earlier so if they're still here, dad and gran gran have to be here too". Sokka rested a reassuring hand on Katara's shoulder. "For now, we should try and figure out what exactly happened to the tribe and why we got transported to the future".

His stomach suddenly grumbled loudly. "Now can we go eat? I think I can hear the food calling my name". His eyes glazed over and he started walking towards the barracks in an almost trance-like state.

Even as Katara stifled a chuckle at her brother's antics, worries about her family still remained fastened on the edges of her mind.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay so second chapter is up and we finally get to see Zuko. A little story time: I uploaded the first chapter and totally forgot to add my author's note so I had to reupload it. For those who missed the author's note, Katara was 16 BEFORE time travelling to the future. Obviously that would mean Sokka was 19 before the time travel as well :)

Please do keep in mind that Zuko is older (this is the future, after all) AND Fire Lord so he's going to be more mature and serious.

Also, thank you to my anonymous reviewers! If you have an account, log in and add this story to your alerts so you'll know exactly when I update :)

**misakitadashi: **He has made his entrance! You'll see more of him in the next chapter though.

**Aotloverr:** I hope this chapter answered your question. And I'm glad you love the concept so far! Hopefully, I can deliver it well (fingers crossed) :)

Fun fact: I wrote most of this on the bus going to and from school! I gotta make use of an hour and half commute right?

Thank you everyone for reading and please review, favourite, and add this story to your alert subscription! Reviews motivate me to write so I would truly appreciate it if you could leave your thoughts about the chapter :D BTW, there will be ZUTARA interaction in the next chapter so look forward to it! If you have any questions about the story, feel free to review/PM me and I would be more than happy to answer your question.

Till next time (which won't be long because I already have chapter 3 written down. It just needs to be edited),

\- dysfunctionaldreamer


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